The Health Belief Model and Preventive Measures: A Study of the Ministry of Health Campaign on Coronavirus in Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

As of August 2017, approximately 684 people have died in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since the coronavirus Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) outbreak in 2012. Saudi Arabia became the leading country for the number of illnesses and deaths related to MERS-CoV, making this a health megacrisis. Early Ministry of Health (MOH) communication efforts proved ineffective and created anger, confusion, and mistrust. Changes in command, implementation of new guidelines and policies, and a health preventive campaign have been instrumental in the fight. The MOH launched the “We Can Stop It” campaign in 2015. This study shares results from a survey of 875 students from King Saud University on the credibility of MOH information and effectiveness of the campaign’s prevention recommendations. Results show that the MOH is a credible source of information and that Saudis are following most, but not all, recommended preventive measures. Those persons with higher perceived benefits and lower barriers are more likely to follow recommended guidelines.

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Social Learning Theory and the Health Belief Model

I Rosenstock, V. Strecher, M H Becker (1988)

The Health Belief Model, social learning theory (recently relabelled social cognitive theory), self-efficacy, and locus of control have all been applied with varying success to problems of explaining, predicting, and influencing behavior. Yet, there is conceptual confusion among researchers and practitioners about the interrelationships of these theories and variables. This article attempts to show how these explanatory factors may be related, and in so doing, posits a revised explanatory model which incorporates self-efficacy into the Health Belief Model. Specifically, self-efficacy is proposed as a separate independent variable along with the traditional health belief variables of perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers. Incentive to behave (health motivation) is also a component of the model. Locus of control is not included explicitly because it is believed to be incorporated within other elements of the model. It is predicted that the new formulation will more fully account for health-related behavior than did earlier formulations, and will suggest more effective behavioral interventions than have hitherto been available to health educators.